High Altitude Recipes?

Baking By ShaunaNicole Updated 8 Oct 2012 , 3:31am by sabre

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ShaunaNicole Posted 27 Sep 2012 , 4:49pm
post #1 of 6

Hi Everyone,
I am having a very hard time with certain recipes where I currently live-in Denver, at 5000 feet. In particular, the cakes tend to fall in the center. If anyone is willing to share some high altitude recipes for any flavor cake, I would so appreciate it!
Thanks,
Shauna

5 replies
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Elcee Posted 28 Sep 2012 , 1:40am
post #2 of 6

Hi, ShaunaNicole, I'm in Colorado Springs at around 6200 ft. There's definitely a learning curve to baking at this altitude. I don't have specific high altitude recipes, but I adjust for it. At the most basic level, you need to:

decrease sugar by 2 tbs per cup
increase liquid by 2 tbs per cup*
decrease leavening by 1/4 tsp per tsp

*sometimes more, it helps to know what your batter consistency should be

All of this becomes habit after a while and you find yourself just automatically making the adjustments in your head as you read a recipe.

It also helps to separate your eggs; beat the whites to soft peaks; fold them into the batter at the end.

I've found that some recipes simply don't work at high altitude no matter what you do. I've settled into tried and true recipes now, but I never try a new recipe without a trial version (or 2 or 3) first. I've recently been playing with a peanut butter cake recipe that took 4 tries to get the proper adjustments.

I bake at a slightly lower temp (325) for a slightly shorter time. If a recipe says 35-40 minutes, I start checking at 25 minutes. FYI, I know some people disagree with this advice but it works for me so I keep on suggesting it to people who are having trouble with high altitude baking.

Good luck!

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ShaunaNicole Posted 28 Sep 2012 , 3:07am
post #3 of 6

Thanks Elcee. I've done a bunch of reading on the adjustments rec for altitude, but yours is much more concise! Thanks!

Does anyone else have specific recipes that are reliable? Even doctored cake mix recipes would be fine with me if I could depend on them. Actually, the cake mix WASC is one of the recipes that works for me...

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ShaunaNicole Posted 28 Sep 2012 , 3:08am
post #4 of 6

Thanks Elcee. I've done a bunch of reading on the adjustments rec for altitude, but yours is much more concise! Thanks!

Does anyone else have specific recipes that are reliable? Even doctored cake mix recipes would be fine with me if I could depend on them. Actually, the cake mix WASC is one of the recipes that works for me...

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Spooky_789 Posted 7 Oct 2012 , 9:18pm
post #5 of 6

I'm in Pueblo at just under 4800 feet. I really like the white velvet cake recipe from CakeBoss (the software maker) - http://www.cakeboss.com/WhiteVelvetCake.aspx. It did very well for me, with no adjustments to the recipe.

I have good luck with Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake recipe with the following modifications: Reduce baking powder to 1 tsp., reduce baking soda to 3/4 tsp, use 1 cup sour cream instead of 1 cup milk.

Interestingly, I find my cakes take a lot longer to bake than most recipes call for. Plus, I can't fill my pans as full unless I use a collar, otherwise they will overflow.

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sabre Posted 8 Oct 2012 , 3:31am
post #6 of 6

I checked out "Pie in the Sky" by Susan Purdy from the local library. In her book, she includes charts for baking at any altitude. Her cake recipes are delicious.

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